


ocean blue

by mikane_hoshizora



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7588123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikane_hoshizora/pseuds/mikane_hoshizora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>just eliumi admiring each other and being cuties.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ocean blue

**Author's Note:**

> HIHIHIHIHI!!!! 
> 
> ((late)) bday present for @pika09!!! its kinda boring hhhh but i hope u like it anyway!!!!!!!! D:

If there’s anything Eli knows about Sonoda Umi, it’s the determination in her eyes, her hardened look, and the certainty and grace in her every movement. When she was smaller, Eli had always been the one watching everyone else from a distance, standing afar until the rest of her peers’ silhouettes had disappeared somewhere far off she could never hope to reach. She thinks it might be different, now, and it is. She’s the one watching from behind, but not forgotten—more like a presiding presence (some of the underclassmen liked to call her the mom friend, although she’s not quite sure exactly what that means). But with Umi, something is always different. She doesn’t need to watch over her, worry for her—but rather, she’s always reassured by her presence. It’s something Eli doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to get enough of.

Once, Eli went to see Umi at archery practice. Umi doesn’t know about that, of course, but that’s beside the point. It sounds creepy now that she thinks about it, but it wasn’t at the time. She’d been heading back to the student council office after speaking to the principle, and she’d happened to pass by. She wouldn’t call the sight entrancing, exactly, but it was definitely something close, at least in Eli’s book (these are the moments when Nozomi loves to tease her and call her embarrassing, although Eli can’t quite fathom why).

Umi is beautiful. All the µ’s girls are, really, in their own way, and Eli can’t help but marvel at each of their separate quirks. But it’s hard to mistake Umi’s presence, from the way she stands, to her subtle movements. Her eyes held a sort of raging calm, like the dark sea after a storm, heavy with the weight of its strengths and sorrows. There’s a certain grace to her, to the way her fingers, slender and pale, settle upon the string, like a butterfly touching down on a leaf.

Umi is more than the ocean, Eli thinks. She is the waves crashing upon a rocky beach, but she is also the reflection of flowers on the lake, wavering and yet serene. Umi is more than the other girls take her for, she is present in each word and movement, each quiet moment. She is the brightness in a room, something Eli can’t help but be attracted to. It’s strange, but it feels right—because it’s Umi after all, and if it’s her, Eli is sure she can’t be wrong.

That was the first time Eli had ever felt something like that.

\- - -

Umi sometimes finds herself sneaking glances at her upperclassman during their club meetings, but in all honesty, who can blame her? Eli’s presence is strong, blinding almost—not something that she can just see out of the corner of one eye, but that she can’t help but watch, admire. She is agile yet swift, her every movement clear and decisive. She is the stream in a canyon, Umi realizes, soft yet persistent. She is forward, but not overbearing; she is gentle yet strong, in the way that water erodes rock, picking away bit by bit. She is the earth that keeps them all grounded, firm yet at the same time, soft.

Eli and Umi had always been the calmer ones—as they would put it, anyway. Some of the other girls (most prominently Honoka) liked to call them boring, but Umi preferred to say that they were simply selective in what sort of activities they could and couldn’t be dragged into.

It comes to a point where the two are the often only ones left behind after the others rush out of the room, clamoring enthusiastically. Umi appreciates the bustling energy usually contained in their small clubroom, but these silent moments are her favorite.

The clubroom is empty when she approaches, the last one to return after their practice session on the roof. She goes to gather her things; Kotori has cram school classes, and Honoka has to help her family with the shop, so she’ll be going home alone today. She prides herself on keeping herself in on everything that’s going on with her unusually large (in her opinion, anyway) group of friends. As she slides her last book into her bag, the door opens behind her.

“Ah, Umi. You’re still here?” The class president greeted her as she entered. Umi turned quickly to hide her smile—It was always nice to see Eli at the end of the day, like the aftertaste of bitter tea.

“Yes. I was just preparing to leave.” She gestured to her packed bag.

“Oh.” Eli smiled. “How are things?”

“Ah…” Umi glances out the window, searching for the right response. “They’re… good. Everything’s coming along nicely, the live preparations, I mean. The lyrics for the new song are almost finished, I’ll try to have it in by tonight, if I’m not too busy—”

“Umi. Umi.” Eli cuts her off. “That’s not what I meant.” She sighed. “How are you?”

Umi frowned. “I just told you—”

“No, how are you?” Eli sighs. “Not your work. How are you doing?”

“I…” she faltered. Umi didn’t like to talk about herself—she was used to listening while Honoka and Kotori rambled on about anything and everything. It was difficult, telling others about herself; after all, her friends had been her entire life. It was hard to detach herself from that. “I’m okay. I guess. Like I said, I was about to head back. We have a quiz tomorrow, although I wouldn’t put much faith in Honoka or Kotori being prepared for it.” She sighed. “Other than that, everything’s normal. Really.”

Eli smiled softly. “You really do care about the others a lot, huh?”

Umi shrugged. “I guess I do.”

Eli stared her down, an unreadable expression on her face. Umi felt her heart race. “What is it…?”

“No, nothing. It’s just… I really admire that about you. Umi.”

“Eh?”

The blonde seemed troubled, as if deciding what to say. Finally, she offered, “I don’t know; it’s kind of weird. But I can’t help but feel attracted to that—your determination, I mean. It’s just something about you.” She laughed.

Umi turned, heart beating in her chest. What was this, anyway? It wasn’t as if she didn’t feel the same way about her upperclassman—but it was just so hard to bring to words. Sonoda Umi had never been good at accepting compliments, but this was something else. It was Eli, after all, and with Eli it had always been different. “I…uh, that’s—”  
She felt her cheeks burn. “That’s not right. It’s you that’s strong, after all.”

Eli smiled softly. “You flatter me too much.” She looks at her again, and Umi can see that rock-hard solidity, the warmth of a gentle flame, and an unmistakable comfort. Eli crosses the room again, heading for the door with a sigh. “We should get going. You wanted to head back early, right?”

“Oh… Right.” Umi stopped herself before she could say anything more. Had she gotten too caught up? Somehow, everything felt off. Yet somehow, nothing had changed.

“Thanks for your hard work,” Eli says to her as the two descend the stairs. Umi fumbles for her words, having forgotten all formalities, but eventually manages a reply.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Eli responds, turning down the path towards her house. Umi watches her go, her figure silhouetted against the deepening red sky. There is something different about Eli, something that makes her feel less like an extension of someone else, a member of a crowd, a background character. With Eli, she is someone worth admiring, worth remembering.

“Things are okay like this, right?” She whispers, after Eli is too far off to hear. The wind slaps at her cheeks.  
Overhead, a bird takes flight, soaring blindingly into the last light of the day.

\- - -

If there’s anything Umi knows about Ayase Eli, it’s her silent maturity, her passion, and her unmistakable strength. Umi is lost in her, yet at the same time in their relationship she finds herself. She has always been one of a group, following her friends around until her sense of individuality dimmed in comparison; but Eli is different. Eli looks at her like she’s her, someone worth seeing and being with and—by god—admiring.

After all, even when she can’t find the strength in herself, Eli has always been there.


End file.
